


i have you breathing down my neck (breathing down my neck)

by kylorenhasan8pack



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Declarations Of Love, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Feels, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Major Character Injury, Modern AU, Poe/Hux - Freeform, Serious Injuries, Unresolved Emotional Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-14 19:17:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14142783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kylorenhasan8pack/pseuds/kylorenhasan8pack
Summary: After Poe is in a serious accident, Hux takes off work and attempts to nurse his boyfriend back to health...it's not always an easy task. Modern AU. Gingerpilot.





	i have you breathing down my neck (breathing down my neck)

**Author's Note:**

> written for the prompt for "gingerpilot hurt/comfort". rated for mild mentions of traumatic injury and use of the word "shit". please let me know what you think. :)

_Ribs (3) fractured (details provided on second page). Femur (left) fractured. Tibia (left) fractured. Fibula (left) fractured. (Details provided on second page.)_

_Contact health provider if: patient has a fever; patient’s cast or brace feels too tight; bad smell or bleeding from cast or bandages._

_Seek medical attention immediately if: area feels hot, tender, painful, or looks red and swollen; cast or bandage gets wet; area feels numb._

_Medications Prescribed—_

“Hux, you’ve read that thing like 20 times since I got home. Just bring me my meds, will you?”

The slight laugh he added to the request did little to hide the fact that Hux knew quite well that that particular tone of Poe’s was code for  _“I’m irritated but being nice about it”_. He sighed but didn’t look up from the paperwork. It had been the same tone of voice that he heard for the nearly two weeks since he had been allowed to bring Poe home from the hospital after the accident and one he had become well acquainted with. Oddly enough, he had actually become well acquainted with a number of intricacies of Poe’s personality that he had previously disregarded. Briefly, the concept had fascinated him, but later, it just caused him to feel guilty that it took something like this for him to notice them.

“You shouldn’t be feeling very much pain yet. It’s still twenty minutes until your next dose.” Hux had his own, more straightforward tone that he used in these situations – though his was more reliant on feigning boredom than amusement when he sought to hide his annoyance from his partner. 

“ _I’ll_ tell you when I’m feeling pain yet.”

Hux glanced up from the several pages of discharge paperwork, now mingled with pages that he had printed out on proper homecare for Poe’s various injuries from the hospital website that the doctor had recommended. “Twenty minutes.”

It’s not that he didn’t empathize. He understood that Poe was frustrated with his condition and that translated into grumbling and generally making his job difficult whenever he got into these moods. He honestly understood…

Poe exhaled, and as he did, it was like his whole body relaxed into the bed in a way that looked more like giving up than tranquility. “Well, I don’t think it’s gonna kill me to have it a few minutes early.”

…It just wouldn’t hurt if his bedridden boyfriend acknowledged a bit more that this was difficult for the  _both_  of them. Reading instructions over and over to ensure he never accidentally killed him with his long list of medications he had to take at specific hours, scheduling appointments, helping Poe do everything from switching positions to eating to taking a piss, having to watch the night of the accident, everything happening in slow motion when—

Hux shook away the memory that made his chest feel tight and his throat thick to the point of aching. He had taken nearly a month off of work, of which he had just over a week left. It was nearly all of his saved-up vacation days that he had earned with his current company. Family leave only paid half of his earnings and they weren’t married yet, so that was hardly an option, and with Poe out of work before this, they needed every penny. Vacation time was the only answer, but Mr. Snoke had made his feelings on the matter explicitly known - from a work perspective, it hadn’t been time that Hux could afford to miss. This wasn’t about the work though. It was about being there and taking care of Poe, and he had  _wanted_  to be there for the man that he loved…sometimes though, Poe didn’t make it easy on him. 

More along the vein of truth, they didn’t make it easy on each other. Hux had known from the day that they had met that they were two very different men that functioned in very different ways. Sometimes it was a good thing, sometimes less so. Every so often, he caught himself absently wondering if perhaps he could drop him off at the hospital for a couple of days so that his grumbles could become the nurses’ problem, but God knows that even if he ever got the chance, he would never agree to that. He worried enough as it was whenever he showered or went to the grocery store and left Poe alone in their bed.

“Perhaps, but I’d rather not take the chance, not when we’ve already managed to keep you on a steady schedule.” He set the stack of papers neatly onto his mahogany work desk that sat in the corner of their bedroom opposite that of their bed. That work desk had been the first of many compromises they had made when they had moved in together a year ago and changing his mind on the use of habit forming prescription drugs would not be the next. “What kind of soup do you want with dinner?”

“Can’t we just get pizza or something?”

“Soup is healthier. Besides, it comes with the sandwiches and I have a coupon.”

“ _Tage_.”

The whine in his tone was so drawn out, Hux nearly groaned with begrudging amusement. “What, Darling?” He humored him.

Poe’s lips quirked up at the edges, a mischievous look overtaking his expression. “ _C’mon_ , baby. You can’t even order some greasy food for the guy that saved your life?”

“ _What_?” That caused him to jerk his head in Poe’s direction, his voice nothing short of indignant. That was a new one. “You didn’t save my life.”

The other man simply shrugged a little. “I don’t know, I got hit by the car, you seem fine…”

Poe was joking, but it wasn’t funny, not to Hux. His forehead creased as his brows drew together, Hux’s nose scrunching slightly at Poe’s suggestion. Why did he always have to– He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, a reflexive action that turned out to be a bad one, as it only welcomed the images of that night back to the forefront of his mind. He opened them again quickly in an attempt to mentally shake off the feelings that never failed to accompany the images.

“That’s called not looking before you cross the bloody street, not heroism. Shall I order the food now or are we going to argue what happened when I saw it less than ten feet away from me?”

Something about his delivery must have come off more harshly than he had intended because Poe immediately sobered and his tone softened.

“Hey, hey, I was just kidding. I’m sorry.”

And now he’d made Poe feel bad, which only served to make Hux feel like shit himself. Wonderful. “No,  _I’m_  sorry. I’d just…rather not talk about the accident.”

“Okay…but-”

He had begun the sentence in the way that implied he would do just that and Hux’s next words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them. “I just don’t want to talk about it, Poe,” he snapped.

The injured man stared at him for a long moment, frowning. “Tage…”

“It’s nothing, just-”

“It’s  _not_.”

“Poe.”

“I know this is hard for you, baby, missing work, and taking care of me, and-”

“It’s not about missing work,” he corrected, lifting his phone to dial the number of the restaurant. God, why were his eyes burning? He wasn’t going to tear up. This was ridiculous. “Now please let me know what you’d like so-”

“Then tell me what it is, because I feel like you’re mad at me all the time and I don’t know why if that’s not it.”

“I’m not angry with you, Poe.”

“Then why does it seem like you are?”

“Because I thought you were dead!” Again, the words left his mouth harshly before he could stop them, one sentence turning into another as his feelings spilled out. “I thought you were dead. It’s been almost three weeks and I still see the way your body looked when that truck hit you and I hear the sounds you made– I understand that that’s unfair to you, so I’d rather not discuss it. What kind of soup do you want with dinner?”

Hux took a slow deep breath before he allowed his gaze to fall back on his boyfriend. If he had ever seen a kicked puppy, he was sure that it would look almost exactly like Poe did just now, his eyes sad and imploring and looking into his for answers. 

“Armitage…Baby, come here.”

Poe’s arms were outstretched and for one of many times, he recalled that he couldn’t even hug him properly in his state, not like they used to. This time though, knowledge of his injuries didn’t stop Hux from giving in to Poe’s request for physical affection. Obediently, he crossed the room, crawling into bed and resting his head on Poe’s shoulder - the right side of his body was the good one and hadn’t seen nearly as much damage - sighing shakily against him. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, kissing the spot on his shoulder where his lips rested and scooting his body closer, letting an arm slide over his stomach as gently as possible. 

“I love you, Poe,” he said simply, hoping that was enough of an apology, an explanation, an assortment of things, really.

“I know. I love you too.” 


End file.
